Hungary plans to concentrate on the big picture of EU energy policy as it takes on the EU’s rotating presidency in January. Energy will feature prominently at the new presidency’s first EU summit on 4 February.

At the February summit, EU heads of state and government are to discuss the functioning of the European energy market.

Issues on the table will include energy infrastructure, promoting innovative energy technologies and coordinating the EU’s energy policy towards third countries.

Another important strategy-setting document that Hungary will drive forward is the EU’s updated Energy Efficiency Action Plan, which the Commission will present in early March. The presidency hopes to endorse its recommendations at the second formal meeting of energy ministers in June.

The flow of medium-term strategies will be complemented with the start of discussions on the EU’s 2050 energy roadmap.

The Commission is not expected to publish the document until autumn 2011, but the Hungarian Presidency intends to collect input from member states to channel it into the drafting process. This will be done at an informal ministerial meeting in Budapest on 2-3 May, where ministers are scheduled to debate a technical paper on various energy demand scenarios.

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